Chapter Text
Early in the morning hours at the Owl House, things were relatively normal. Well, as normal as they could’ve been given what had happened after the petrifaction ceremony a week ago. Eda and Lilith were left with little to no power, Lilith betrayed Emperor Belos and was now sleeping on a cot in Eda’s storage tower- plus the relationship between the sisters hasn’t exactly been perfect since, you know…. the whole “I cursed you” incident- and Luz was left without a way back to the human realm and back to her mother.
The human had been making attempts to be open with her mother about what’s been transpiring on her end, but with no connection between the two realms, there’s now no connection between the two of them. Camila has no idea what’s going on with her daughter.
Nevertheless, they managed to make the best out of a bad situation and tried to move forward. Luz, Eda, and King have turned to bounty hunting to make ends meet now that Eda has no way of getting to the human realm to collect human “relics”. While they’ve been doing that, Lilith has been holding herself up in her storage closet bedroom reading any and every book on curses and how to cure them. Needless to say, guilt has been on her mind much more frequently and the need for redemption has been made her top priority. While Eda has made an effort to talk to her and acknowledge her existence, Lilith can sense Eda still held some resentment towards her. Which she did. I mean, why wouldn’t she be? She got cursed by her own sister and has been forced to live with a curse for thirty years all because she wanted to win a-
But despite all the setbacks, they managed to return to some sense of normalcy. And this day started as normal as it could’ve. Luz strolled into the kitchen, placing a hand over her yawning mouth due to waking up only minutes ago. As she opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but notice Eda was doing something odd involving her staff.
“Hey, Eda,” She said. “What’re you doing?”
Eda gleefully turned to her. “Kid! Glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to make my staff come to me all morning but I think I’m finally starting to make some progress. Here, watch this.” She propped her staff up against the counter closest to the window and stepped back. ”Magic staff, come to me.” She stretched out her hand for several stale moments of nothingness before the staff fell over and landed with a high-pitched “cla-clunk”. But this meager motion made the Owl Lady perk up. ”Isn’t that great?”
While her mentor's smile was nice to see, Luz returned it with an awkward stare. ”Yeeeeaaahhh. I don’t wanna burst your bubble, but do you think that could’ve been the breeze from that open window?”
Eda, still holding her position, swiveled her head and saw the window was indeed open and blowing slightly in the breeze, creaking as it moved only a few millimeters.
She turned back to Luz in sarcam. ”You just love ruining things for me, don’t you?”
BAAAMMM!!!
The door was flung open by the bottom of Lilith Clawthorne’s boot, scaring Luz and making Eda’s eyes widen. The door kicker in question gripped a scroll in her hand and wore a well-earned smile under hard-earned eye bags.
”Edalyn, human.” She said. “I have wonderful news.”
”You’re finally going to start doing your own laundry?” Eda snarked.
“No. This is much more important than that.”
The Owl Lady crossed her arms. “Okay, let me rephrase that. Start doing your own laundry.”
“Listen,” The elder Clawthorne said as she crossed to the island counter. “I believe I have found a way to heal our curse.” She rolled the scroll onto the wooden countertop. Judging by how Luz was gazing at it with her curious wonder face, she was already enthralled. But judging by how Eda glared at it with a raised brow, she already had her doubts. The weathered parchment displayed the drawing of a tall, mysterious mountain with clouds dotted near its peak. And soaring over the mountain was a creature baring wings the size of house roofs with claws at the ends, a neck twisting neck that looked like someone traced a worm while they were drawing, and an open jaw shooting burning orange flames through rows of jagged teeth.
A dragon.
Nazar the Knowledgeable,” Lilith started. “A mystical dragon that lives in a mountain a few hours west of the Boiling Isles.
Luz curiosity grew to ecstasy. ”Shut the front door, dragons actually exist in this world? Like full-fledged, towering, melt-your-skin-clean-off-your-bones-with-one-blast-of-scorching-hot-fire-breath kind of dragons?”
“They did at one point,” Eda snarked. “And they sure were a pain in the world’s side. But I thought they all died off?”
“According to legend, they have,” Lilith said. “But hopefully, not this one. He’s rumored to know everything about... well, everything. Perhaps he can tell us how to cure the curse.”
Luz squealed adorably. “Mystical all-knowing dragon that lives in a mountain. Say no more. I’ll go pack snacks.” She darted to the doorway, but Eda grabbed the hood of her shirt, holding Luz back as her running feet slid on the floor.
”Hold up there, kid.” Eda said, making the human stop. “Coming from someone who’s been scamming people for decades, this sounds too much like a scam to me.”
”But Edalyn, our curse-“
”Is not what our focus should be. That should be finding out how to get Luz home now that the portal’s destroyed.”
”But Eda,” Luz intervened. “don’t you think we’d stand a better chance at finding that and taking on Belos if we had both you and Lilith curse free? This sounds like it could help us.”
”Kid, if I wanted to take my chances with a fire-breathing beast, I’d join a dating site. And no one ever said anything about taking on Belos anytime soon. We’re not doing this. End of discussion.”
”But Edalyn-“
”End. Of. Discussion.” With that said, Luz and Lilith grew goosebumps across their skin. They knew it was time to shut their traps. The Owl Lady’s tens stare lingered on them a moment longer before she grabbed her staff and walked to the door leading outside. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go practice levitating my staff in the basement. Where there are no windows.” She slammed the door behind her.
”Ooo.” Luz said. “You got Eda’s ‘End of Discussion’ face. Last time she did that was when she told King not to bake a pie.”
”It would’ve been delicious and she knew it!” King said as he padded into the kitchen to retrieve a snack from a cupboard, then left the two women alone.
Lilith groaned. “Why is she always so stubborn?”
”Eda likes doing things the way she wants to. You can either love her or hate her for it.”
”But this could help her. It could help us.”
Luz’s arms shifted uncomfortably. ”No offense, but the last time you said something like that, it ended with her getting captured by Belos and almost getting turned to stone.”
”You’re telling me you don’t want to heal the curse?”
”I do. But maybe we should just trust Eda on this.”
Lilith thought. Arguing with the person you cursed seemed like a losing battle. Even if her intentions had good motives.
She blue haired witch released a relinquishing sigh. “Fine. We’ll trust Edalyn.”
While Luz could see right through Lilith’s frustration like a transparent curtain, she smiled.
”Hey, guys.” The little voice broke the mood of the room and made the witches look at the demon standing in the doorway. “Either of you want this last mini donut? They go bad today and I already had 3 soooo...” The ladies simply stare at him without any sign of giving an answer. “Eh, I’m just gonna eat it.” King shoved the donut in his mouth, making little “nom nom nom” noises as he chewed.
All while Luz and Lilith watched him as if his feasting was placing them in an inexplicable hypnotic trance.
That same night at the Owl House, Luz had curled up in her sleeping bag, trying to catch up on some Zs. Her ajar door provided a small streak of hallway light that shined over her face. Then, only for a flicker, a shadow moved across the light on Luz’s cheek, but it was enough to wake the human from her deep slumber. She cracked her eyelids into slits, making out the outline of a figure moving past her room. Puzzled beyond her low limit, she wriggled out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed to the door, peeping her head out into the hall.
And there, hastily pacing past the pictures and wall fixtures, cloak draped over her shoulder, staff clutched in her hand, was..
”Lilith?” Luz asked, causing the witch to freeze in place deer-in-the-headlights style. “What are you doing?”
Lilith, stiff as a board, turned to her sister’s apprentice. ”Oh….. Hello human…… what’re you up to at this time of night?”
”Sleeping,” the human responded in a half-lidded monotone.
The older Clawthorne nodded, sweat budding out through her temple’s pores. ”Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. So was I. So was I. I was just….... getting a snack.”
Luz’s brow rose. “In the middle of the night? While wearing a cloak.... and holding your staff?”
Lilith darted her eyes to her attire, then her staff, then back to the human. ”People have done weirder things in the middle of the night?”
”Lilith, I’m not stupid. You’re sneaking out to go to that mountain dragon.”
”Fine.” Lilith relented, loosening herself. “Yes, I am. If there’s a way to cure this curse, I have to know whether Edayln grants me permission or not. So don’t bother trying to stop me.” She gripped her cloak, turned on her heel, and stomped a few more steps.
”I’m coming with you.” Luz called, making Lilith freeze in her tracks.
“I did not see that coming,” She said, facing her once more.
Luz took a step closer. ”If you think that this dragon can tell us how to cure Eda, I wanna help.”
“Aren’t you worried about disobeying Edalyn?”
”I’ve disobeyed her before plenty of times and things worked out fine..... Mostly.”
Lilith’s urge to object heightened, but she saw no point to the effort. She’s gotten firsthand views of how much this human cares for her sister and the lengths she’s willing to go to protect her.
Eda’s trained her well. She’s just as stubborn as her.
”Very well then, human.” Lilith caved. “We’ll leave at once.”
”Wait. Can I go change first?”
”You want to approach a dragon while wearing a shirt with cat ears on the hood?”
”It’s called having a trademark outfit.”
After Luz had donned her trademark outfit, - as well as the cloak gifted to her by Eda- she and Lilith crept down the stairs, through the hall, and into the living room, where they each passed by the coffee table in front of the couch. But what Lilith didn't see was the human discreetly placing something on it behind her.
The blue haired witch glanced over her shoulder, whispering, ”We should be able to get there by morn-“ She was abruptly jolted to a halt by the human grabbing her arm. “What’s wro-“
Luz raised a finger to her lips “Shhhhh.” She pointed to the floor. Lilith’s foot hadn't made contact with the rug when the girl stopped her. And for good reason. King was snoozing on the carpet as the witch’s boot hung over him. Another inch and they’d be screwed. Cautiously- and comedically- she widely stepped over the little demon as if she was trying not to slip on ice. Luz mirrored the motion with the same level of hilarity, seemingly not realizing that she could have stepped around him. With that trial cleared, they slinked to the front door and gingerly slithered outside. Luz painstakingly creaked the door closed. And after the two witches heard a “cla-clunk”, they both let out massive sighs of relief.
Which ultimately caused Hooty to wake up.
”Hoot-hoot! Who’s there? What’s going on? Will you read my autobiography?”
“Hooty! Keep it down!” Luz frantically hissed.
”Oh, are we being sneaky? I love being sneaky. This one time, I was so sneaky that I-“ The end of Lilith’s staff getting inserted into his blabbering beak clammed him up.
“Listen carefully.” She said. ”I am going to remove my staff from your mouth. And when I do, you’re not going to say a word. Got it?”
Hooty muffled an “mmm-hmmm”, permitting Lilith to take the staff out of the bird worm’s mouth.
”Look,” Luz said. “Just please don’t tell Eda we’re sneaking out. Alright?”
Hooty squinted. ”Depends, what do I get in return?”
The human stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a pack of crackers.
Hooty smiled. ”Your secret is safe with me.”
Luz plucked the crackers out of the pack and slid them in Hooty’s opened mouth.
As Hooty chewed his snack, Lilith and Luz hopped on the staff and took to the skies.
As an orange sun rose over the horizon, Luz and Lilith glided over the crashing waves of the boiling demon realm ocean.
Luz gawked at the vastness of how far they’ve gone. ”I’ve never been this far out from the isles before. Everything smells so….” She took a long inhale through her nose. “Actually, it smells kinda better than the isles.”
”Save your excitement until we arrive at the mountain.” Lilith said, not unkindly yet also not invitingly either.
”Sorry,” The human said reflexively, zipping her lips and returning to looking at the sights around her. The only silence breaker keeping this flight from reaching the pinnacle of awkwardness was the light howling wind and the rolling waters below. Then, Luz struck up a question. “So is this dragon really all-knowing?”
”I never said he was all-knowing. He’s just said to know most things. He may be a holder of knowledge, but he’s no psychic. I just hope he can tell us how to heal the curse before Edalyn finds out that we’re gone.”
”About that. Why are you disobeying Eda? I thought that after everything that happened, you would want to stay on her good side.”
”I don’t care about Eda’s orders. Curing this curse is all that matters to me.”
”So you can get revenge on Belos?”
”It’s not for me. It’s for Edalyn. I messed up so badly that apologizing a million times isn’t going to make her forgive me. Maybe if I find a cure,...then maybe she’ll at least consider it. And I hope she does because this guilt is getting heavier to carry each day.”
“I get that.” Luz said. “I feel guilty too.”
“What do you have to feel guilty for?”
“If I never came here, Eda never would have come after me when you took me prisoner. Then she never would’ve almost been petrified, then she-“
“No offense, But don’t you think you’re putting a little too much blame on yourself. I’m sure Eda doesn’t blame you.”
“Maybe she doesn’t, but I do. I just want to help her however I can.” She paused from her inner monologue to squint at something in the distance that caught her eye. “Uh Lilith, that wouldn't happen to be our destination, would it?” She pointed straight ahead. Lilith followed the human’s finger, seeing what she saw.
A triangular tip crept through the thick morning mist and rising steam from the ocean water. As they got closer, the triangle widened from the bottom downward for a full minute before the base reached the waves.
Lilith pulled her map out of her cloak.
“This is it,” She confirmed. She stuffed the map back into her cloak pocket, saying “Looks like we both might get our wishes granted.” She guided her staff to the mountain. They got so close to it, they could see which rocks were grey and which were dark grey, the pointed shadows being cast by stones, even a classroom’s worth of dead trees. In a rare case, they saw one with a leaf or two on it, making this eerie, near-depressing monument 0.002 percent more lively. But through all the mist and jagged formations, Luz found it all to be a tad entrancing.
It’s like that internet magician stole a picture from a book and dropped it in the ocean, she thought.
Oddly beautiful as it may have been, the witches weren't here for sightseeing. They were scanning for one spot in particular.
Luz shot her index to the mountain face. “There! Take us down.” Lilith piloted her staff to the stony face, landing on a ledge halfway between the peak and base. They climbed off the staff and crossed over to the opening of a tunnel seen only in horror movies and theme park rides. Pitch black darkness laid before them. They could hear their footsteps echoing off its walls, praying that those were indeed theirs and not something else’s.
”This is the entrance.” Lilith said.
”If that’s so, then let’s go have ourselves a friendly chat with a dragon, wordsthatI’vealwayswantedtosay.”
Before she could take a single step, Lilith stopped her by holding out her staff. ”No... We both can’t go in there.”
”Wait- what- what do you mean?”
A sigh from the former Emperor's hand. ”It was after I told Eda about Nazar. I read another scroll. It said that he will only answer the questions of one person at a time. That’s why I wanted to come here alone.”
”You’re telling me this now?!?!”
”You would have wanted to join anyway.”
”Well... Yeah, you’re probably right?”
”I’m going in.” Lilith asserted.
”No!” Luz argued. “I’ll go.”
”Why you?”
”Because between the two of us, I have more magic than you. If this really is a scam and something dangerous ends up happening, then I’ll be better at fending it off.”
Lilith raised an eyebrow. Her senses detected an ulterior motive. “You just want to say that you talked to a dragon, don’t you?”
”Two for two, Lilith, you’re on a roll.”
Lilith touched her fingertips to her forehead. ”Edalyn would kill me if she knew I sent you in.”
”I’ll handle Eda for you. You just stand out here and wait. Oh! And in case you get bored, here.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small round object two circular pieces of plastic fused closely together with a spool of string fixed between them.
And, naturally, Lilith gawked at it like it came from space. ”What is this?”
”It’s called a yo-yo. It’s a toy from my world. Here, watch this.” She performed this trick with showmanship expertise:
Lilith took the so-called yo-yo, its purpose still puzzling her. “Thank you.” The human started into the cave. “Wait. Take this.” She held out her silver staff. “It may help you.”
Luz took the shiny weapon. ”Thanks.” They're stares stayed on one another for a few heartbeats. “Well... Wish me luck.”
Lilith had to admire the human’s undeniable ability to strap on the courage to make her way into the darkness of the cave and escape her view.
Eda’s definitely trained her well.
Let’s hope for all our sakes her training pulls through.
Her light glyph might have made her able to see five feet in front of her face, but she kept her body battle-ready so nothing could get the jump on her. To comfort herself on whatever was to come, she engaged in a conversation... With herself.
”Okay, Luz. You’re going to talk to a dragon. This is your twelfth favorite fantasy movie come to life. I finally get to ask all my burning dragon-centered questions. Like if fire breath hurts on the way up. Or if dragons can blow out birthday candles. Or if dragons shed their scales. And if so, how big is the skin?” She shook her head. Focus, dummy. “Keep it together, Luz. First thing you need to do is find this dragon. And to do that, you gotta reach the end of this tunnel that seems to go on forev- oh wait, there’s the end.” She could see a golden speck of blinding light in the center of the dark. So blinding, that it trumped the light of her glyph. She squinted, thinking she could see something through the glow. Shapes of some sort. When her eyes adjusted, it became abundantly clear what she was in.
A massive chamber resembling a ruined castle, long forgotten by time.
Luz was instantly mesmerized by the sheer immensity and indisputable beauty of this place. Dozens of stone columns the width of train cars rose from the ground to the ceiling, hundreds of feet above. Viaducts spanning the breadth of gorges were sprinkled around, each at a different height in the chamber and each leading in a different direction. And the best part? The entire place was full of gold. Millions, if not billions of coins, trinkets, treasures, and jewels reflected light of lit torches in sconces and illuminated the room in a day-like glow.
“Woah.” Was all Luz could say. Her “Woah” echoed through the chamber, making her immediately cover her mouth in fear of anyone of anything hearing that. She gave the area a scan with frantically darting eyes. When nothing seemed to have moved, she uncovered her mouth and (INCREDIBLY) carefully inched forward, each step more carefully chosen than the last. The first few she made after the main entrance took her directly onto a stone, railing-less viaduct spanning the breadth of one chamber wall to the other. Her footsteps grew to be less cautious as she took in the sight, slowly spinning while gawking around.
”This is so much better than that movie,” she said “I mean look at this place! I’ll admit, the ruined castle motif is a bit cliché, but everything else is just amazing......”
She didn’t sense it or process it, but a mass of immeasurable size was creepily rising behind her.
”....And look at how much gold is down there. Again, kinda cliché to have a bunch of gold in a dragon’s den, but I’m not here to judge. Oh right! Where is this dragon anyway?” A big gust of air from behind Luz blows her hair and clothing so unexpectedly and with such force, it felt like a wind cannon hitting her back.
Luz, her stomach sinking, swiveled around and gazed upon it.
A gigantic, monstrous dragon.
Its size was bigger than any monster Luz has seen in her entire life. Its eyes were the size of wrecking balls. Its smallest teeth were probably the size of one of Amity’s abominations. Its scales were as crimson as blood, his neck was as long and thick as the trunk of a tree, and his smile was more bone-chilling than any comic book villain smile she had ever seen. She didn’t need to pull out that picture to confirm that this was the dragon they were looking for.
Nazar the Knowledgeable.
“Wwwweeeeelllllll.” Said the dragon. His voice was a slow, deep, rasp that formed shivers from head to toe. “What do you have heeeerrrreee?”
Luz gaped up at this beast with absolute fear. ”There it is.”
At the Owl House, Eda made her way into the living room, yawning and stretching her arms.
“You know, that couch in the basement is a lot more comfortable than I thought. I should sleep on it more often.” She looked to the floor and noticed a sleeping King.
”Hmmm. That’s odd. There’s one moocher sleeping here, but I don’t see the other ones. Hey King.”
King was at a point where he was half asleep, but awake enough to where he can talk.
“Not now. I’m having a dream where I just saved a Princess made out of chocolate. I don’t know if I’m gonna kiss her or eat her.”
Eda picked King up like a small dog and shook him back and forth, fully waking him.
”I guess we’ll never know.” She put King down. “Have you seen Luz?”
”Nope. Not since yesterday.”
Eda looked confused. Her eyes were then drawn to the coffee table. There was something left there. An envelope. She picked it up and tore it open, taking out a note from inside it. After unfolding the note, she could automatically tell it was written by Luz judging by the handwriting.
Reading: ”Eda, got up early. Went to hang out with Willow, Gus, and Amity. Be back by nightfall. XOXO, Luz. Something’s not right here.”
”What do you mean?” King asked.
“She usually signs her notes XOXOXO. She must’ve made this in a hurry. But why?”
King scoffed. ”I’m sure she’s fine.”
”Well I’m not sure if she’s fine. HOOTY!”
Hooty crashes up through the floor. ”You caaaaaallllled?”.
”Did anybody leave this house in the middle of the night?” Eda asked.
”Maybe someone did. Maybe someone didn’t.”
Eda pulls a box of crackers out of her hair. ”Would this change your mind?”
”Nice try,-“ He turned his head away from Eda to show he has some kind of upper hand. “But Luz and Lilith already bribed me last night to keep me quiet about them sneaking out.”
Eda dropped the crackers ”Luz and Lilith snuck out last night?!”
Hooty turned back to Eda. ”How’d you find that out?”
Eda burst open the door of the storage closet Lilith’s bedroom. All she saw was a bunch of books, a shelf that’s been turned into a table, and an empty cot.
”I should’ve known.” Eda said. “They went to that mountain.” She ran out of the tower, into the house. When she came back out, her staff was in her hand.
“Stay here. I’m going after them.”
”Shouldn’t I come too?” King asked.
”Do you want to get eaten by a dragon?”
King held his foot. “Ow! My little foot! It hurts so much. I don’t think I can join you.”
”You could have just said no. You don’t have to be so dramatic.”
”Have you ever known me not to be dramatic?”
Eda disregarded the little demon and took off flying.
At the mountain, inside the den, Nazar was still staring at Luz.
”Look at this.” He said, his voice getting creepier with each word he says. “It would appear I have a visitor. Tell me… to who do I owe the pleasure?”
Luz was beyond scared. She was stuttering, but she eventually got her words together. ”Oh, Uh, I-I am.... I am Luz.... the human.”
”A human?.......... On the Boiling Isles?......... Such a thing is unheard of.” He inched his head closer to her. “Tell me, what powers do you hold?”
”Well, I think you’ll be surprised to hear that I’ve been learning magic and have been training to become a witch.”
”A human who can do magic…. That’s even more unheard of. You are certainly a fascinating human.”
Luz blushed. ”Ohhh stooppp.”
”Tell me....Why have you come here?”
”Oh. Right. Uh, I’m here to ask you a question.”
”You have but to ask.”
”Well,” Luz started. “You see, my mentor, Eda, and her sister, Lilith, have this shared curse thing. It was originally a curse that turned Eda into an owl beast, but Lilith took half of it. Now they both have this thing where they have different colored eyes, it’s actually kinda nice since they’re sisters, but-…. I’m getting off-topic here-“
”You want to know if there is a cure.”
Luz smiled. ”Exactly.”
Nazar thought for a moment. ”Hmmmmm. A shared curse is something I’ve never heard before. But if you were to find a cure to the original curse, it's possible that it could heal the both of them.”
”Okay. How do I cure the original curse?”
”I could tell you that, ....... or I couldn’t.”
Luz’s smile disappeared. Replaced with a concerned and worried expression. “What?”
Nazar’s kind smile became increasingly menacing. ”I could tell you how to cure the curse. Or, I could steal your magic instead.” He slowly moved his head closer to Luz. She stepped back, getting closer to the edge of the viaduct.
Luz has a sense of realization. “You’re a basilisk.”
”Worse. I’m a dragon.” Nazar lifts his giant claw up like he was going to squash a spider. Luz ran away (in the opposite direction since Nazar was using the claw closer to the door, blocking Luz’s path). Nazar’s claw misses his target and crashes through the bridge, destroying the part he hit. The stone crumbled underneath Luz’s feet. She wasn’t fast enough, she fell, gravity pulling her to the gold-filled ground. She gripped hold of Lilith’s staff and flew away from the dragon. Nazar chased after her, crashing through the viaduct.
”Good thing I’ve been practicing origami.” Luz said, pulling out two pieces of paper that are folded into ninja stars and had light glyphs on them. She tapped both of the stars and threw them in the direction of her opponent. The stars activated right when they got in front of Nazar’s eyes.
The glyphs blinded Nazar, causing him to scream and swat his claws around in the air. When he opened his eyes, the human was nowhere to be seen.
”Very clever, human.” He said, growling, searching for the human by moving his head and neck. “Clearly, I underestimated you. I suppose you are wondering why I’m not who everyone thinks I am. You see, dragons in this world are like basilisks, they feed off of magic. Although dragons have been extinct for so long that it’s no longer written anywhere. That and no one has survived long enough to write it down.”
Luz was hiding behind a stone pillar that went up to the ceiling. She was up high enough that she was above Nazar, out of his view. Or at least she hoped,
”And when we’re done absorbing people’s magic,....... well, ....... a dragon needs to eat…… It’s only a way of life.”
Luz's anxiety levels were immeasurable. “That’s why only one person is allowed.” She said. “So there are no witnesses. You don’t know anything. You really are a scam.”
Nazar whipped his head in the direction he thought the human’s voice came from, but he doesn’t see her. Not to mention it could just be an echo playing tricks on him and the human was in a completely different direction.
”I have knowledge.” Nazar said. “Just not as much as I’m said to have.”
”What kind of knowledge do you have?”
“Knowledge about the kind of people you cannot trust........ like Lilith.”
Luz opened her eyes fully. “You know Lilith?”
”Lilith and Edalyn Clawthorne, owl curse, it wasn’t that hard to connect the dots. I am well aware of who they are, what happened to both of them, and who they turned out to be. And I know.... what neither of them have been telling you.”
Luz's emotions were all over the place. Fear, curiosity, anger. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling.
But as the emotions were racing through her mind, Nazar spotted something.
The end of a staff and part of a figure’s back sticking out from a pillar.
Nazar smiles. Found you, he thought.
The dragon inhaled. He was about to do something he hasn’t done for quite a while.
RRRAAAHHHH
A ball of fire bursts out of Nazar’s mouth, hurtling straight for the pillar.
KABLAMO!!
The fire hits the pillar dead on, blasting it to smithereens. Nothing could survive that.
He proudly walked up to what was left of the pillar, expecting to find whatever remained of the human. However, when he looked down, all he saw were scorched rocks and burnt boulders.
The human wasn’t there.
Nazar growled as he moved his head from side to side. The human was still here, still alive. He just needed to find her.
But what this holder of knowledge didn’t know what that human right behind him, hiding under a large platform held up by smaller pillars. Waiting for the right opportunity to make her move.
Eda flew over the ocean at high speeds, venting her anger by talking out loud.
”When I get my hands on them, I’m gonna...... well I don’t even know what I’m gonna do! Of all the irresponsible, dim-witted, outrageous.......”
This feels familiar.
She looked down at the ocean, at her reflection.
“I’ve rubbed off too much on that kid.” She sighs. “It’s not like I’m saying I don’t want to heal the curse, it’s just..... this is no place for a human. And it’s certainly no place for a human to be a criminal. She needs to get back home…….. And now I’m talking to myself while my sister and Luz are most likely getting eaten, set on fire, or some combination of the two. Now I’m starting to get my anger back. Faster Owlbert, I got two idiots to yell at.” She hit the side of Owlbert, making him go faster.
Self-reflection can wait. Now’s the time for action.
Nazar was still on the prowl for Luz while using his most powerful weapon, his voice.
”You are being lied to... Luz the human......... Lilith is not telling you everything. She’s hiding secrets..... information that could be of use to you.”
”Information like what?” Luz asked.
Nazar cranes his head around. ”She knows Belos’ intentions. His plans for the isles. His plans for the titan.”
”What do you know about the titan?”
”I know that Belos wants to resurrect it. Be by its side while it destroys everything. And he is willing to do anything to achieve that dream.”
”Like what?” She didn’t believe a word of it. Belos himself said that the titan’s intentions weren’t so straightforward, that it didn’t just want to take over the realms, that it didn’t want to just destroy everything. But curiosity got the best of Luz. She wanted to know…. What was Belos willing to do to achieve his plan.
Nazar answered. ”Destroy homes, destroy families, and anyone who he thinks will stand in his way. He’s already done that...... and Lilith has been a part of it.”
”Lilith redeemed herself.”
”Just because she turned to the side of good and took half of a curse doesn’t excuse all the horrible acts she’s done in her life. Horrible acts you don’t even know about.”
”Why should I even believe anything you say?”
”Because who would rather believe?...... The one who is trying to warn you..... or the one who cursed her own flesh and blood and use to work for the emperor?”
Luz was starting to become torn and confused. She knew Lilith made the right decision when she turned on the emperor and joined Eda. But she also knew that Lilith was loyal to Belos for decades. What kind of stuff did she do when she was there? Luz knew she probably oversaw a lot of coven-related stuff, she also knew that the emperor had her retrieve some magic artifacts but other than that, nothing. She had no idea what Lilith has done with her time as head of the Emperor’s coven. Which begs the question:
What did she do?
Lilith stood on the ledge she and Luz landed on, passing time by playing with the toy the human gave her. And failing. She attempted to do the trick she did, but the toy just hit her in the face.
”Ow! How did she do that?”
She gave up and threw the toy off the cliff, going back to leaning against the mountain.
“LILITH!!!!”
”Oh no.” Lilith instantly knew who that was. She looked up to see her sister flying down in her direction. She landed on the ledge and dismounted her staff, angrily marching towards her.
”Sister.” Lilith said, playing dumb. “What brings you here?”
”You and Luz came here after I specifically told you not to.”
”Sister, listen, I know what I did wasn’t right, but you must listen to reason.”
”Forget reason. Where’s my human? Is she in there?”
”No.” A loud crash is heard from within the mountain, shaking the earth. “That was probably nothing.”
”She’s in there!” Eda said. Her instincts went into full mother figure mode. She started to the cave, but Lilith held her back, unable to do anything more than that due to having no magic. Now they looked like two children wrestling.
“Let me through,” Eda demanded, “I have to save my kid so I can kill her later.”
”The dragon will tell her everything. Trust me, Edalyn.”
They struggled with each other more and more, both seeming to be sweating more than when they were fighting each other with magic.
Nazar nearly forgot what he was going to do with the human once he found her, but he didn’t care, he was having too much fun.
”Emperor Belos is a mad man.” He said. “He claims to be the savior of this world when in truth, he wants to destroy it.”
”I’m not scared of Belos.” Luz assured.
”Nor should you be. He’s not the one you should be scared of. It’s the titan. When the titan is returned, all will be lost. And it’s only a matter of time until that happens.”
”I’ve faced Belos before. I’ve managed to crack his mask. And I’ve only been here for a month and a half. Once I’m fully prepared, I’ll stop him before he can do anything.”
Nazar talked like a psychopath, his voice going from slow and creepy to fast and crazy.
“You do not understand the gravity of your situation. Your world is falling. It falls and falls and falls, until it can fall no more. And once it’s done falling, everything you know will be gone. You. Me. This world, your human world. Everything and everyone you know. Will. Be. Gone.”
Luz looked uneasy about what he just said. That was, to put it bluntly, beyond off-putting.
She turned her head left and saw the cave she came out of was not too far from where she is hiding.
Here’s my chance.
She got on the staff, took a deep breath, and took the opportunity. She flew out of her hiding spot and towards the exit. The dragon heard the human escaping and swiftly turned around. He saw her flying away on her staff and blasted another ball of fire at her. Luz saw the fire and barrel-rolled out of its way, but the fire blasted her exit way, stopping her from escaping.
Eda and Lilith continued to struggle against each other, both seeming to not have moved an inch. Suddenly, Eda stopped.
”Wait. Do you hear that?” She asked. The two broke up their squabble and took a look down the tunnel. All they could see was a bright light getting bigger and bigger. Not only that, the tunnel started emitting heat. Excessive heat. It didn’t take long for them to realize what it was. They jumped out of the way, taking cover behind a rock just as the fire blasts out of the tunnel like a flamethrower, leaving the ground chard as it subsides. When the fire stops, Eda and Lilith came out from behind the rock, walk over to the tunnel and look down it.
”Perhaps there is something wrong in there.” Lilith said.
”You think!?!?” Eda yelled. “Come on.” She runs down the tunnel, Lilith following close behind.
Luz flew around on her staff, dodging barrages of fireballs that were literally hurled at her. She swung around and flew in Nazar’s direction, reaching into her pocket to pull out some glyphs so she can give him an attack of her own. But before she can do that, Nazar uses his wings to create a gust of wind that blew Luz to the ground. She lifted her head, seeing Nazar creeping closer to her, licking his lips malevolent tongue. She then looked behind her and sees a giant wall behind her. She knew… she’s reached the end of the den.
”Wellllllll.” Nazar said, his voice going back to the same level of creepiness that it was when they first met. “It would appear that you are out of luck. A shame.... out of all that have fallen victim to my wrath,... you have been the one to last the longest.” He opened his hideous mouth, saliva dripping from the tips of his ghastly yellow teeth. Luz covered her eyes as the dragon’s mouth got closer.
”Hey. Nazar the Nitwit!” Nazar growled in curiosity. Forgetting about his prey, he turned around. Who would dishonor me?
Nazar looked to the main viaduct, what remains of it away, and saw two women standing on the stone bridge.
Nazar smiled. ”Well.... if it isn’t the Owl Lady and her sister... the Emperor’s prized pupil.”
Eda held her staff tight. ”Gimme back my human and no one gets hurt.”
”You know,” Nazar said. “you and I have much more in common than you’d think. You have your curse,” He lifted his tail, revealing something attached to it. A magic chain with a lock around it. “and I have mine.”
This revelation shocked all three witches.
“I am forever chained to this mountain. The only key resides in the halls of Belos.”
”I’m gonna take that as a no.” Eda said. She then uses her staff to make a magic circle, but it immediately cracks like glass and collapses in midair. ”Oh right.... no magic.”
”That’s a pity.” Nazar said. “At least I still have the humans magi-“ he turned back towards Luz, only to see her throwing origami ninja stars at him. The stars activate and became fire, making Nazar close his eyes and swat his claws in random directions. This distraction gave Luz the chance to fly past him. She landed on the bridge and reunited with Eda and Lilith.
”Here’s your staff back.” Luz says to Lilith who took it. She mounted it and flew off. Luz and Eda get on Owlbert and start making their escape as well. When Nazar opens his eyes again, he saw the witches escaping down the tunnel from where they entered.
Outside the mountain, at the tunnel entrance, Luz, Eda, and Lilith emerge from the tunnel and fly over the ocean, flying upward towards the clouds.
”Okay.” Lilith said. “I think we’re sa-” Just then, they all then heard a worrying rumbling sound. They turn their heads back to the mountain. Without a doubt, it was coming from there. But before they could question it, out of nowhere, Nazar bursts out of the mountainside. The dragon scrambled on the grounds surrounding the mountain for a short time before spreading his wings open, flapping them, and taking off.
Straight after the witches.
”Faster! Faster!” Luz shouted.
”Hang on, kid.” Eda replied.
Nazar, despite his massive size, was able to gain on them surprisingly fast. This human has been a thorn in his side all day, he wasn’t letting her get away now. He slowly opened his mouth, intending to breathe fire at them. Luz, Eda, and Lilith see the inside of his mouth getting brighter, making them grow in desperation. They didn’t want to say it, but they knew. This is it.
But just as he was about to end all of them in a fiery blast, the chain on his tail reached its end, forcing him to halt. His sudden stop caused his fire breath to activate but ended with him uncontrollably coughing. The witches see this and take this chance to fly higher to the clouds. Nazar manages to cough up a fireball that heads straight for the witches.
”PULL UP!” Eda shouted. Both her and Lilith pull up with all their might, the fireball missing them by inches and nearly getting them singed.
Nazar glared back at the chain behind him, furious about his constriction. He then turned his head back to the witches, watching as they fly into the clouds, out of his view. He let out a roar of frustration before flying back to the mountain, giving up.
The three fly above the clouds, the sea of orange and white providing a strange type of sanctuary.
“Is it over?” Luz asked, her head buried in Eda’s back, eyes closed tighter than a knot.
“I think so, kid.” Eda replied. All three of them let out deep breaths in relief.
Luz perked up. “Eda! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I-“
”Not a word, kid.” Eda said sternly.
Luz had never heard her be that stern before. She thought better than to say anything else and just remained quiet. She knew she messed up. She disobeyed Eda and nearly got them both killed. It’s not the first time she’s done either of those, but this time, given the circumstances with her curse and the portal door, she knew Eda was being more protective than ever and she still disobeyed her.
I messed up again. She thought. Why do I keep messing everything up?
The rest of the flight home was filled with plain silence.
The sun was setting by the time the three witches finally made it back to the Owl House. They landed in the front yard and dismounted their staffs. Luz took a few weary steps away. Eda let her staff transfer back into the pocket-sized palisman and then pressed her fingers against her eyes and nose.
”Okay.” Eda said. “So where to begin. Oh, I know.” She turned to Luz and starts angrily walking toward her. Luz knew she was in for it. But before Eda reached her, Lilith stepped in between them.
”Edalyn, I take full responsibility for-“ Eda shoves Lilith aside, surprising Lilith with how strong she is.
”I’ll deal with you later. Right now, I wanna deal with Luz.”
Lilith understandably and shamefully walks away, back towards the house. She’s already disobeyed her enough for one day.
Luz looked up at Eda.
”Eda, I’m so sorry. I know I disobeyed you and I know I almost got us killed, and you must be furious, but I just-“
”Stop.” Eda said, calmly.
“What?” Luz asked. She was expecting Eda to be screaming bloody murder or at very least raise her voice a bit, but she didn’t even seem to be angry.
”Just stop. I’m not mad.”
”You aren’t?”
Eda got down on one knee.
”I’m touched you want to help cure the curse, but you shouldn’t have to be the one to worry about it.”
”But it’s my fault you’re stuck like this. If I hadn’t gotten captured by Lilith, then you wouldn’t have turned into the owl beast, then you wouldn’t have-“
”Kid.” Eda stopped her. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be a block of stone by now, or probably worse. It’s not your fault for any of this. I know you want to cure the curse, I do too. But I would rather have this curse and find you a way home than not have the curse and leave you stranded here. I know your heart’s in the right place, but I need you to use your head every once in a while. Okay?”
Luz was amazed at how well Eda has been taking this. But she also had to be amazed at just how far she’s come. She’s gone from reckless con artist to full-blown mother figure. A part of her wants to take credit for that, but Luz knew she did that all on her own. And she also knew that right now, the best way to help her get through whatever she was going through was to just do what she asks her to do.
”You’re right.” Luz said. “I’m sorry.”
Eda could tell that Luz has been hiding her guilt. Eda doesn’t want Luz to feel guilty for stuff that she got her roped into. It’s her fault she took the kid in, it’s her fault she exposed her to this world of danger, and now it’s her fault she’s left without a way home to her world, to her mother, to her life.
”I am too, kid.”
Luz and Eda smile at each other for a few tender moments.
“Well, are you gonna do your parallel arm thing or what?” Eda said.
Luz leaped into Eda’s arms and tightly hugged her, spinning her a hundred and eighty degrees so that Eda is facing away from the house and Luz is facing the house. The human then opened her eyes to see Lilith walking towards the side of the house where her room was. She was about to get out of view from Luz, but before she did, she glanced back at Luz and Eda and stared at them. Then, she walks behind the wall and out of view. Luz lowers her eyebrows and moves her eyes to her right.
Lilith is not telling you everything. She’s hiding secrets..... information that could be of use to you.
Eda let go of Luz and stood. “Well, now that that’s over, let’s eat something. Nearly getting killed sure builds up an appetite.” She walked back to the house, Luz following from behind her. As they walk to the house, Luz looks up at Eda with the same face she had when she looked at Lilith.
And I know.... what neither of them have been telling you.
Eda and Luz go into the house and close the door behind them.
Back at the mountain, Nazar was practically losing his mind, talking even more like a psychopath than he was before.
”The human knows too much. She knows I know nothing. But I will not worry. Who will believe a human? The day will come when the world will fall. And when that day comes, none of it will matter. None of it will matter!”
He moved towards a wall of the den, using his claw to carve a picture, singing a maniacle tune.
“We’ll... meet again..... Don’t know where....... Don’t know whennnnnnnnnn.......”
The picture he drew was a being in the shape of a triangle.
With one eyeball, stick-like arms and legs, a bow tie, brick-like lines on his torso, and a top hat.
“But I know we’ll meet again some sunny dayyyyyyyyyy.”